Lost Soul
by Kurama.and.Sakura
Summary: Youko Kurama was a legendary thief in his time. Throughout his career, he had two right-hand-men: First, Kuronue, and second, Yomi. What happens when these two men meet?
1. Prologue

Prologue

327 Years previous

Bats and foxes never did get along.

But these two did.

This particular bat loved the night, hiding, and thieving.

This particular fox loved thieving, cunning, and ingenuity.

So far, a good pair.

"Get a move on, Kuronue, you old bat!" Youko Kurama shouted as he sprinted away from the mansion.

"Can it, fox! I am not old!" Kuronue retorted, but nevertheless picked up his speed.

"If you are ever planning on being the second-in-charge in my famous band of thieves, you also better plan on getting _faster!_" Youko's silver hair whirled behind him as he leapt over a fallen tree branch.

"_Your…._ famous band of thieves? What you actually mean… is that you hope to be my right-hand-man…. in _my_ famous band of thieves!" Kuronue gasped for air. He never was one much for endurance.

"You're just as ignorant as ever, bat. Ever since we were children, you have deluded yourself with ideas of grandeur. Leave it to those who may actually achieve something in life."

"And _you're_ just as… arrogant as ever, fox. Ever since we… were children, you have lifted yourself up on a… pedestal of imagined pride!" The silver-haired fox demon would have retorted had it not been for the angry cries of the mob that rose into the moonlight behind them. "I suppose they are angry ….because you stole their master's treasure?"

"I suppose they are angry because _your_ clumsiness allowed them to catch us red-handed!" Youko said, but with a tone of friendly affection. "A real thief slips in and out without detection!"

"You think it was _my_ fault that…. they had an extra guard hiding behind that… garrison? No such sentry… was indicated in the blue prints!" Kuronue snapped angrily. Kurama chuckled at his friend's frustration.

"A true thief plans for every possibility!" Kurama pushed his pace faster, trying to encourage Kuronue to speed up. The mob was growing nearer. Suddenly, a wall of spikes volleyed upward from the ground, blocking their path. They both skidded to a stop. The voices were getting louder.

"Did you plan for _this_, oh Master Thief?" Kuronue said sarcastically. The fox looked worried and shook his head.

"No time for jokes." Kurama breathed hard, looking all around him.

"Plan?" Kuronue asked.

"Plan." Youko confirmed. "We have to split up. You go left, I'll go right. You know where to meet up." Kuronue nodded. "Then go!" and with that, the pair separated, sprinting in opposite directions.

Youko Kurama spent days waiting for his comrade at the underground cave- their meeting point.

Kuronue never arrived.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Get that cocky smirk off your face, Yomi." A tall, blond demon snarled. Yomi made no response.

"You arrogant little snipe!" Another called. "You led some of our best men into a death trap, and you have no regrets!" _That_ caused Yomi's pointed ears to twitch.

"If those were our best men – and mind you, they all died on the _outer embankments_ of the castle wall – what does that make you?" The surrounding demons growled. A particularly brave on reached up and yanked on one of the horns that protruded from Yomi's forehead.

"Your pride has only been a thorn in Lord Youko's side!" He spat. Yomi swatted away the hand. "Despite that you are the second in command, it is a wonder our Lord hasn't killed you for your insolence." Yomi ignored the demon. "No matter! I'll do it for him!" The demon thrust a jagged knife at Yomi, who dodged. A struggle ensued.

"That is _enough_." A cold voice hissed. Every motion in the group stopped. The surrounding forest seemed to groan, and even the moon hid behind a cloud. "Come with me, Yomi." And with that, both men disappeared behind the flaps of a nearby tent.

"I hope Yomi gets it this time."

"Yeah, he's been gliding on Lord Youko's good graces for too long."

Youko Kurama motioned for Yomi to sit upon one of the mounds of velvety pillows that were scattered about the inside of the tent.

"Why do you act out like this, Yomi?" Youko asked as he seated himself opposite of his second in command. Y9omi turned away and said nothing. Youko continued. "You know better. You are not a fool, yet you do foolish things. Why is that?"

Again, no answer.

"Perhaps I can answer that question myself. If you attempt to infiltrate a fortress you know is well-beyond your power to successfully plunder not just once, but many times, then the true object you seek isn't the plunder at all, is it?"

Yomi looked down.

"But then what is your purpose, I wonder? Power? No, it is too foolish a way to go about gaining it. Death? No, that is too grim a topic for one so young and eager to impress. The answer must be in the question." The fox demon cupped his chin in his hands as he analyzed Yomi with cold gold eyes.

"Attention." He said after a few moments of silence. Yomi's head snapped up. "You're doing this all for attention. How childish." Youko's right hand man growled, but he ignored it and continued in an unchanging tone. "Very well. I will humor you. Whose attention?"

Yomi looked as though he might burst. His small eyes began darting between the tent opening and the thief-lord before him. "Don't even try it. Your indiscretions have been piling up. It is time that we deal with this. Now answer the question."

The two sat in silence. Yomi began chewing on the inside of his cheek. Finally, he took a deep breath.

"Yours." He whispered.

"Pardon?" the demon's fox-ears twitched. "Speak up."

"Yours." Yomi said.

"You wanted _my_ attention. Why?" Kurama's face seemed to darken as his brown angled down in anger. "Haven't I given you enough attention? Haven't I done enough?" Instinctively, Youko bared his pointed teeth. "I put up with _your_ rash actions. I find men to replace the ones _you_ have killed. I even make you my second in command."

Yomi blanched and looked at his hands.

"What more do you _want?_" Youko put a sharp-nailed hand under Yomi's chin and forced it up. "Look at me! Do you want to take my place? Is that it?" Kurama's tone was getting lower and more dangerous by the second.

"No! That's not it!" Yomi's voice cracked as he tried to inch away from the furious fox demon crouched in front of him.

"Then _what_?" this was as close to bellowing as Kurama ever got.

Yomi opened his mouth to answer but—

"Lord Kurama, there is some one here who wishes to see you. He says it is urgent-" the messenger demon was shoved out of the way as a tall man in a pointed hat entered.

The bat.

Youko's jaw dropped in surpise.

"Kuronue?"


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Youko sat in a shocked silence as his old companion stepped inside the tent. Yomi sputtered protests - "Who is this? You shouldn't be here! Do you know who this is!" - but, if this tall demon heard Yomi, he chose to ignore it.

In his silence, the fox thought furiously. _Three hundred and Twenty seven years and thirteen weeks. Where has he been all this time? He has improved. Look how silently he steps. What happened to him? I believed he surely must have been killed...Three hundred and twenty seven years... of what? Imprisonment? Isolation? Or something else? Why does he return now? How can this_ _be? Is this even him? _Despite all the questions gnawing at him, Youko remained calm, with an air of haughty indifference.

"Don't tell me you aren't surprised," Kuronue said. "How long has it been, now? Well, too long to even remember."

As he approached, Kurama stood, pacing back and forth through the tent, subconsciously keeping himself a safe distance from this threat.

"Oh please, Kurama. Don't be like that," Kuronue sighed. "This is how you will treat me after all this time? After all our history together? I can see that what your men told me is true - You are a changed person. You call yourself Lord Youko now? _Lord?_ and now you distance yourself from me, your oldest companion, despite our long separation? Who _are _you?"

Finally Kurama spoke.

"Who am I? Who am _I?_ I am Youko Kurama, master thief of the Makai. You are nothing but a ghost of my past, sent to haunt me!"

"A ghost? Come now, brother. I am no ghost. Just a long absent friend!"

"A friend! Pah! A friend who has been dead for three hundred years!"

Yomi sat in awe of these two powerful beings circling through the tent. _This Kuronue has never been spoken of within our ranks, and none of Lord Youko's current companions has been a thief for more than fifty years. Three centuries! How old is Kurama?_

"Dead? No, Kurama, I stand before you as alive and well as I ever have been. I know your confusion, I expected it. I was not killed. Captured, yes, but it was not long before I devised a plan of escape! They could not keep me there! By the time I reached the safety of our rendezvous, you were nowhere to be found! I searched all our usual spots and found them abandoned. _I _believed _you_ to be dead!"

Youko continued pacing in silence, staring intensely at this seeming-friend.

"Yomi, out. I will deal with you later."

"Sir?"

"Leave us, and do not allow us to be disturbed. Set the usual guard for the night."

Without another word, Yomi left, glancing between the two men as he tied the tent's opening tightly shut.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The following day, the band of thieves had packed up their supplies and marched speedily back to their hide- out. As hated as he was by his fellow men, Yomi found himself at the center of attention.

"Tell us, Yomi. Who is he?"

" What business does he have with Lord Youko?"

"Is he a friend or enemy?"

"Why did they leave so soon? Why did we not return at the same time, why must we wait?"

Yomi was ill-equipped to answer any of these questions. Besides, these questions lay as a heavy burden on his shoulder. Who _is_ Kuronue? Yomi pushed aside these thoughts as he buried the questions of the men.

"I will have no more of this gossip! He is an old friend of the Lord's, and that is all there is for us to know. Treat him with respect until Youko deems otherwise."

The men huffed, unsatisfied with this answer. Theirs was a long day: being led by a second-in-command they didn't trust to their hidden home, which was a full day's march in the blazing heat. Yes, it was going to be a miserable day.

Immediately as the flaps fell and were knotted tightly closed, Kurama and Kuronue had engaged in a deep discussion. The talking mostly fell to Kuronue, with a clarifying question asked by Kurama every so often. The story was as Kuronue had previously mentioned – his capture and subsequent escape, the seeming death of Kurama. Kuronue was abandoned and alone in the world.

"I wept for you," he said. "I wept for our friendship, our partnership, our history…. I wept for your death. I wandered for several days, stricken and clumsy in my grief. I was lost, Kurama. Lost without you by my side. I slowly regained by faculties and sense, and, after some time, a thought struck me with such force that I became obsessed with it. _He must have been captured! _I thought. _He must be still imprisoned, as I had been! But how can that be? How could I escape and he could not? He, who is a master of tricks, thievery, and subtlety? _

"I did not know the answer, but I became feverish with planning your rescue. Looking back, my plan was rash and dangerous – but it did not matter. After several months of planning, I struck at an optimal time. Many of the guards had been stationed at a separate keep, so the security was especially light. During the darkest hour of the night, I stole inside. I began my search in the cells, but you were not there. In more and more desperation, I searched every other room of that horrible place, but you were nowhere to be found. Grief, my friend. Grief such as I never felt before nor since overtook me, body and soul. I lost all sense of caution and waged war on every man and woman there. Not one survived my fury."

Kuronue paused, staring off into the distance.

"I lost my sense of being that day, Kurama. My soul was torn apart. I knew I could find peace and salvation only in you, but you were gone… My fervor of rescuing you arose anew, transformed in a feverish desire to emulate you. I returned to the cells, where men half starved and longing for freedom were imprisoned. I told them, very plainly, that they could pledge their lives to me and become my bandits, or they could starve to death in their cells. All agreed to become my men, and all served honorably. I became the leader, they the followers. I could not bear to remain near this place, so I took my operation far, far away.

"Kurama, I was not the man you once knew. I felt my life and humor die inside me day by day. I became cold and distant. I gave horrible punishments to any who crossed me. I became obsessed with my desire to become as you were… all the qualities you had, that I never mastered… that became my pastime. I taught myself discipline, strength, and cunning. I became as I remembered you to be, but still I was unsatisfied. Nothing could replace the bond we had shared. No group of bandits could be as successful as ours. So one day I told my men to leave and go their own ways. I lived in solitude, searching for more ways to become closer to your memory. In this time, I taught myself patience and cunning, though I have never achieved the quality of those attributes that you had… I tried. About a year ago, I heard tell of a fox, beautiful and dangerous, whose crew of bandits had grown more and more powerful. I began to hope, my friend. Hope as I had not dared to in many years. I began my search, trying to reign in my desires and dreams, but they became uncontrollable!"

Kuronue gave a slight laugh and continued, "You truly have become multiple what you were when I knew you, fox. Your cunning, subtlety, and ingenuity surely have grown to ten times what they were before. It took me twelve entire months to even track down another rumor of you! Thankfully, your man – Yomi, you called him? – is brash! I found him trying to storm a heavily fortified castle one day, and many men were slaughtered. I watched from a distance, and as he and another man fled from the enemy forces, I heard it. For the love of all things important in this life, I heard his companion say your name. He said, "Lord Youko will not forgive this, not another time! We should not have attempted this damn raid without him!" I became more clumsy as I followed, hopeful and without caution. Finally, _finally_, he led me to you. To my friend who was lost to time."

The bat paused, tears in his eyes. "And now here you stand before me, as I never believed you would again be!" Kuronue reached out towards Kurama, who shrunk backwards. "Do not be suspicious, my friend. What I have said is the truth, and my heart could not be fuller at this moment."

After some time, Kurama spoke up.

"I was lost, as well. I searched everywhere, but you were not to be found. I knew I had failed you, I knew that we were lost to me. My failure to protect you was my worst betrayal. How could I not have searched harder? How could I have given up so quickly? My greatest friend and companion… the loss was too great for me to bear, and I threw myself into my grief. I became greater than I could have imagined… I wanted to become what would have made you proud… I…I shamed myself by not continuing my search."

His voice quivered, though his face remained calm and composed. He cleared his throat and continued.

"Three hundred and twenty seven years. What I would not give to make up that time."

Kurama bowed his head. Kuronue leapt to his feet, lifting the fox into his arms. As tall as Youko was, he felt small as he was encased in Kuronue's warmth.

"Do not regret the past, my dear friend." Kuronue said, placing a small kiss on the fox's head. "We have discovered the truth now, and all is well."


	5. Chapter 4

**warning: adult content**

Chapter 4

As they stepped back from their embrace, a moment of deep emotional occurred. Kuronue lifted his fox's bowed head and looked into his golden eyes.

"Do not regret. Do not let sorrow overcome you. Rejoice and let us look to the future."

Kuronue pulled Kurama gently in, guiding their mouths together. The soft kiss marked a change in the nature of their friendship, and a strong passion grew from their troubled history. Kurama broke off the embrace, uncomfortable with the aura surrounding them.

"Come," he said. Kuronue followed Kurama outside.

"Yomi," Kurama said in his deep, dangerous voice. "At dawn tomorrow, pack up the camp and return to the hide out. We will meet you there. I expect you to be there no later than the following morning, so you must move quickly."

"My Lord, what is happening? Who is this man?" Yomi lowered his voice, trying to speak only so Kurama could hear. "Is he dangerous?"

"So this boy is your second in command? How quaint. And yes, compared to you, I am _quite_ dangerous."

Yomi snarled, but held his tongue as Kurama gave him a dangerous look. "Lord, I will prepare the men to leave at dawn."

Nothing more was said between the three. Within the next moment, the fox and bat were gone, speeding towards the hide out.

At their top speeds, it only took Kurama and Kuronue a few hours to reach the hide out. They approached a small, though deep, pond which lay at the base of a large, rocky hill. . Kurama dove into the pool, swimming down. Kuronue followed, in awe of this cave Kurama found. About twenty feet below the water's surface was a tunnel that led under the hill. A further thirty feet led to the end of the tunnel and another small pond. Kurama swam upwards until the broke the surface. When Kuronue reached the top, he gasped at the beauty of this place.

The cave was huge – thirty feet high and at least two hundred feet wide. The ground near the pond was damp with rich, brown soil and plant life so exotic and wild. The ceiling of the cave was obviously the top of the hill, composed almost entirely of rocks and boulders. Plenty of light shown through these slits and cracks between the boulders, lighting up the cave with a gentle glow. There was a deep alcove area, more shaded than the rest of the cavern, full of cots, thick blankets, furs, and pillows, obviously meant as a sleeping area for the bandits. Opposite this was a area of chairs, tables, pots, and food. Halfway between these two spots was a large pool which bubbled merrily, making the air above it steam. Other areas of the cavern were left open, full of plant life. The air was soaked with the scent of flowers and herbs.

Along the back side of the cave was a small tunnel, twisted and curved. Kurama led Kuronue through this dark tunnel to reveal a smaller chamber which was filled with the most exquisite furnishings. Plant roots from the hill above had crept down and penetrated the ceiling of this cavern, which lay fifteen feet above the floor. The roots allowed spots of light to spill into the room, bathing it in a dim light. The walls were covered with thick, velvety curtains, which kept the cavern warm. A circular bed was set against the back wall, swaddled in heavy blankets and silk pillows. The ground was covered in the softest, shortest grass Kuronue had ever seen. A hot springs, smaller than the one in the previous cavern, bubbled up about a foot away from the bed. Another, even smaller tunnel was barely visible to the left, but it was covered with angry looking vines and roses.

Kurama turned to Kuronue, watching his reactions.

"This is incredible. How did you find this place? This is much more secure and comfortable than any hide-aways we ever had!"

Kurama neared Kuronue, touching his clothing and kissing his skin. He whispered, "Years of solitude… I needed something to occupy my mind…" and with that, he pulled Kuronue into a tight embrace, kissing passionately. Kuronue could feel how hot and hard his fox was, so he reached around Youko's waist and untied the knots that held his robes together before ripping his own shaggy clothing off.

Kuronue clearly had grown very strong over the centuries. His strength nearly outmatched Kurama's. They ripped at each other, kissing and biting, running hands over skin that had not touched in years, First Kuronue pushed Kurama onto the bed, and then was flipped over on his back. Neither was willing to submit to the other. Panting and sweating, they fought for control. Finally, Kuronue managed to bind Kurama's arms behind his back and pin him on his stomach. He lay on top of the fox, nibbling his shoulders and neck.

"Oh, my fox… how you hurried back to your den… just for me…" he whispered. They lay, panting for several minutes, enjoying each other's presence. Ever so slowly, Kuronue began to push himself inside, but would pause if Kurama let out a distressed whine. Finally, he was fully inside, throbbing at the Fox's tightness. He began thrusting faster and faster, harder, and harder. Their moans echoed through the cave. Kuronue grabbed a handful of the Fox's silvery locks and yanked him backwards, holding him tightly.

Finally, both let out a moan of ecstasy, finishing their play. Still inside, Kuronue pulled Kurama in tight, holding him. Exhausted, they fall into a deep slumber.

What a long day it had been. Yomi and his fellow bandits had moved as quickly as they could and managed to make it to the pool at the base of the hill three hours sooner than Lord Youko had commanded. Each dove under the pool and into the cavern, immediately stumbling to their cots, fatigued from the hurried march. Yomi was the only one who still had some energy left, so he hurried to inform his Lord of their arrival. He walked through the second tunnel to enter Kurama's room.

"Sir –" He cut himself off at the sight of Kurama in Kuronue's arms. He stepped back into the shadows of the cave and stared, stunned, at his sleeping lord. With the sight burned into his mind, he turned back to the blackened tunnel. He fell against a wall, gasping for air. His vision became blurry and his body burned with rage and hate.


End file.
